Kenyan presidential running mate alleges vote 'doctoring'

Results from Kenya's election are "being doctored" and votes should
be recounted from scratch, the running mate of the presidential candidate
Raila Odinga said on Thursday.

Kenya's Prime Minister Raila Odinga (R), presidential candidate of the Coalition for Reforms and Democracy (CORD), and his running mate Kalonzo Musyoka acknowledge their supporters during a campaign rally in Thika townPhoto: REUTERS

By Mike Pflanz in Nairobi

5:40PM GMT 07 Mar 2013

It was the first open allegation that Monday's polls were being rigged in a way that mirrored the failures of the last vote in 2007, which provoked weeks of violence in which 1,100 people died.

The comments drew sharp criticism from observers and diplomats, and raised tensions in areas loyal to both Mr Odinga and his rival, Uhuru Kenyatta, who was ahead by five percentage points on Thursday with close to half of votes counted. Mr Kenyatta was on 49.7 – below the 50 per cent figure required to avoid a run-off.

Employers allowed workers to go home early and late-night shops closed soon after 6pm as Nairobi's city centre emptied quicker than usual.

"We have evidence that results we are receiving are actually being doctored," said Kalonzo Musyoka, Mr Odinga's deputy presidential candidate. "In some cases, total votes cast exceeds the number of registered voters. The national vote tallying process lacks integrity and has to be stopped and restarted."

This was "not a call to mass action". He said his Coalition on Reform and Democracy "upheld the rule of law".

Many Kenyans are increasingly frustrated – and suspicious – at the delayed outcome. The last election was widely believed to have been rigged during the days between voting and the results. "This looks exactly like a rerun of 2007," said Maina Kiai, an election observer.

"Kenyans queue up to vote peacefully, then there's this long wait for the results and now that's opening up the perception of rigging. The only thing that's keeping people off the streets is that this time they trust the courts as the place to work out electoral disputes, which was not the case last time."

Kenya's electoral commission dismissed Mr Odinga's claims and again appealed for voters' patience. It promised results today. "With the rigorous verification process in place, there is no room for doctoring the results whatsoever by any election official," said Issack Hassan, the commission's chairman.

There were no examples of constituencies where the number of ballots cast had been found to be greater than registered voters, he added.

A new system to send results from polling stations directly to the election centre was abandoned on Wednesday, and a manual tally was started.

International Criminal Court prosecutors accuse Mr Kenyatta, the son of independent Kenya's first president, of mobilising armed militia to carry out the violence that followed the last polls. He denies the charges. His case was due to start on April 11, but on Thursday it was put back to July 9.